Site Launch: Hotel Deals Ireland
Posted 9 Jan 2010 in Activate Clients , Email Marketing , Google AdWords , Pay Per Click (PPC) , Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |
Launched today was the affiliate hotel bookings website HotelDealsIreland.ie. Activate has devised a broad online marketing strategy to include Email Marketing, Pay Per Click, Search Engine Optimisation, Facebook & Twitter.
Hotel Deals Ireland enables users to book superb rates on wide stock of hotels in Ireland. Categories include:
Accommodation is a extremely competitive sector in Ireland and the site will need a strong push to make any impact. We plan to revisit this client as a case study later in the year to analyse & share some of the results of the online marketing push.
New E-zine Launch for LookWest.ie
Posted 27 May 2009 in Activate Clients , Email Marketing |
LookWest.ie is an iniative of the Western Development Commission, with responsibility for promoting economic and social development in the Western Region. LookWest.ie promotes Ireland’s Western region as a great place to live, work and do business and maintains a database of subscribed individuals and enterprises. The new look e-zine was tasked with informing and appealing to both individuals and business.
- We introduced LookWest.ie in an introductory paragraph.
- Each e-zine presents quite a bit of information and therefore we ‘themed’ each monthly ezine to provide focus and context.
- Many of the articles contain statistical information so we presented users with a summary paragraph and the option to ‘read more’ for more in-depth information.
- The e-zine referred users to LookWest’s new Twitter account and Facebook page
Campaign Stats
The stats of the first e-zine send were very encouraging. Despite a long period of inactivity with their database:
- Only 8 people unsubscribed.
- The open rate was 33%
- The click rate was 45%
This is an indication of a finely tuned message sent to a relevant and well maintained database.
Stats vary widely on average open and click rates in e-mails. Generally accepted averages are 25% for both. That will obviously depend hugely on, amongst other things, your message, frequency of emails, quality of your database and your sector (whether it is e-commerce, B2B, charity etc).
Tips for planning an e-zine:
- Plan ahead – schedule in advance and gather relevant information
- Consider “theming” emails where appropriate
- Have a clear focus on what you are trying to say, by basing it on what is likely to be of interest to your readers
- Ask yourself why users have signed up to your e-zine. What are they expecting you to provide them with?
- Break information up into bite sized chunks
- Present key information in the top. Many users will see only the top in a preview pane, and will use this to assess whether to open or delete.
KLM Just not getting it right with Email Marketing
Posted 14 May 2009 in Email Marketing |
I signed up to the KLM mailing list when I entered an online competition some time back. When the emails started arriving in my inbox, I noticed one important element was missing – an unsubscribe feature. So basically KLM were using these emails to broadcast to their database and giving receivers no way of opting out. Apart from so obviously being customer unfriendly, it is illegal.
I also wasn’t the only person to notice. Maryrose Lyons of Brightspark Consulting wrote about her experience in making a complaint to the Data Protection Commissioners about this KLM spam. I noticed that the last email from KLM that came into my inbox had an unsubscribe feature added to it. Hurrah! I duly unsubscribed and mentally congratulated Maryrose for her success.
So I am exasperated to have received another KLM spam email in my inbox this morning. If KLM are reading – please make note: EMAIL MARKETING 101: YOU ARE MEANT TO REMOVE THE UNSUBSCRIBES FROM YOUR LIVE DATABASE. This is a textbook case of how to generate bad will towards your own brand. Perhaps it’s time KLM called in some professionals.
Tesco Online Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Posted 27 Mar 2009 in Email Marketing |
Tesco online is a great service that has saved my bacon on several occassions. I use it because I am very busy, and sometimes lugging small kids around the shops after a stressful day just isn’t worth it. The delivery guy is lovely, and the quality of the food has always been good, no sneaking out-of-date items into my delivery.
I did fill out a customer satisfaction survey by email some months ago. Another one arrived earlier this week. I ignored it. This morning I have a reminder to fill it in, and to be honest, I’m annoyed about it. Please don’t ask people, who are already too busy to get into the shops in the first place, to fill in yet another online questionnaire. It’s self-serving communication harrassing customers to remind them to fill it in. I know that the information is useful to Tescos, it’s great that they are interested in customer feedback, and improving the customer experience. But they are losing sight of the fact that it is a time-saving service that they provide.
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